July E-newsletter, NEW!

Those of you subscribed for website updates, I’ve added a monthly e-newsletter. You still shouldn’t ever receive more than one notice from me per week, as my website updates are not that frequent, but I’ll include the newsletters here too. If you’d rather receive them directly, feel free to email me at [email protected] and I’ll add you to the list. I started in June, so this is e-newsletter #2.

Welcome to my July e-newsletter! My intent is to cover a variety of health-related topics, so that there’s something for everyone, all the while educating about what health coaching is, and how it can help you.

It’s HOT. Now that we have around a month left of summer (at least for vacation), have you gotten a sunburn yet? Please try not to! While most functional health professionals agree that sunlight offers many health benefits (e.g., https://www.marksdailyapple.com/sun/), burns never do. Many of the sunscreens we buy contain potentially harmful ingredients known as endocrine disruptors. Our skin is our largest organ, and anything we put on our skin is absorbed into our bodies. Consensus seems to be that a sunscreen with zinc oxide is one of the safest. The Environmental Working Group is a wonderful resource for all things non-toxic, including food, personal care items, cleaners, etc. Here’s their annual sunscreen guide: https://www.ewg.org/sunscreen/

Do you find that you’re pulled to eat processed food – the chips, the cookies, the soda, the fries, the ice cream, etc. –   — no matter how hard you try to give it up? The pull is real.This food is literally engineered to keep us coming back for more (see “bliss point”: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6550161/). Processed food is also known to cause inflammation and chronic disease. I am a Certified Professional Food Addiction Coach. I am building a group coaching program, most likely to launch early next year, called Exploring and Understanding Food Addiction. If you worry about yourself or someone you love regarding their consumption of unhealthy foods, consultations are free, and you don’t have to wait until next year to explore this with me. This comic strip made me laugh out loud, I’ll admit, but it demonstrates exactly why I do this work. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/janetfrankphdnbchwc_eatrealfood-healthcoach-activity-7088139523208986624-QOzJ?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

Speaking of food, if you want to start to clean up your diet for your health, there are a couple of places you can consider starting. The root of all chronic diseases (cancer, autoimmune disease, diabetes, Alzheimers, cardiovascular disease, to name a few) is inflammation. When you sprain your ankle and it gets red and swells, that short-term swelling is a healing act. But when that happens in your blood vessels and it sticks around long-term, we get disease. We can’t feel it, but it’s more dangerous the longer it’s there. Three places to start:  eliminate refined flours (just about anything with wheat or any white flour such as rice, potato, etc.), sugar, and industrial seed oils (pretty much all the oils marketed as “heart healthy” are not! I will elaborate in future newsletters. To most people, this sounds daunting and overwhelming. Habit change is hard and health coaches are experts in the PROCESS of change. We don’t tell you what to do, but we help you figure out what will be best for you.

Speaking of change… FEAR = False Evidence Appearing Real.

  Think on that….

This is DELICIOUS, if you like acorn squash, or have never tried acorn squash! Get it good and crunchy on the outside. https://downshiftology.com/recipes/parmesan-herb-roasted-acorn-squash/

Mindfulness is all the rage (with good reason, showing tons of mental and physical health benefits). In a nutshell, being in a mindful state, or meditating, actually means you are not striving for anything! Key components of mediation are non-striving, and non-judgment. All you’re doing when you meditate is noticing whatever comes up, without judging it. Minds wander. It’s what they do. We are biologically wired to think, and you may spend your entire meditation sessions, especially in the beginning, bringing yourself back to your breath over and over. It’s OK. That’s not a failure. The idea is to learn to control your attention rather than your attention controlling you. It takes practice! Buddha In Blue Jeans is a great little intro guide.

Relaxation, on the other hand, is a more active process with an end result in mind. Here, things such as deep breathing, body scan exercises, or guided imagery are specifically intended to evoke bodily changes, such as slower breathing, less muscle tension, or calmer thoughts. Makes sense, since the mind and body are connected.

Questions? My promise to you:  I will answer every email.

Please feel free to share this with anyone you think might appreciate it, or with any organizational leaders you know who may appreciate a low-cost virtual presentation on any health-related topic. Work, PTA, religious organization, no matter. My goal is to get the world thinking about health and wellness and what it means to each person.

If you’ve gotten this from a friend and would like to be included, simply email “add me to e-newsletter” to [email protected].

Lastly, although the job I mentioned in my last newsletter was a dream job, we agreed to part ways, as there were some key issues on which we did not see eye to eye. That’s OK! I’ve taken on some part-time work in a colleague’s weight loss/nutrition business, which is exciting!

Until next time, wishing you good health.